Collapsible lug wrench



June 7, 1960 c. R. FALK 2,939,351

COLLAPSIBLE LUG WRENCH Filed Jan. 19, 1959 INVENTOR CHARLES R. FALK ATTORNEY Un t Stews rm Q COLLAPSIBLE LUG WRENCH Charles R. Falls, 1 Club Drive, Woodmere, N.Y.

Filed Jan. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 181,412

a Claims. c1. 81-177) The present invention generally relates to a novel and improved wrench construction and more particularly to a foldable lug wrench.

In present day practice, many garages, service stations and individual vehicle owners employ a lug wrench of the type having four radially extending arms for removing and replacing wheel retaining lugs when it is necessary to remove a wheel for any reason whatsoever. The arms are rigid in relation .to each other and each arm is equipped with a socket on the outer end thereof for engaging a lug. Since the size of the lugs varies between different vehicles, these sockets are of different sizes for effectively engaging different sizes of lugs. While this type of wrench is effective for its purposes, it-is extremely diflicult to store the same since it requires a relatively large space and seldom will fit into a tool cabinet or chest and takes up considerable space in a trunk or tool compartment of a vehicle. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a foldable or collapsible wrench of this type in which the arms may swing to a position alongside of each other for storage in a compact condition but yet retaining the rigidity and strength necessary in this type of wrench.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding wrench incorporating generally a central disk with one arm rigid therewith and three arms pivotally connected thereto with the orientation of the arms and pivotal connections being, arranged in a novel manner so that two'of the pivotal arms are disposed on one side of the disk and pivotal to a position alongside of each other and the other pivotal am being disposed on the other side of the disk and pivotal to a position vunderlying one of the other pivotal arms.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wrench in accordance with the preceding objects which is simple in construction, rugged, easily folded and unfolded, long lasting, rigid, saft, effective in operation and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

Still other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of an exemplifying embodiment of this invention, from the appended claims and from the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the wrench of the present invention illustrating the folded positions in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the wrench; and

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line-3-3 of Figure l showing the structural details of the connection between the disk and one of the pivotal arms.

Referring now specifically'to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the foldable lug wrench of the present invention. The wrench v10 includes a circular disk 12 having parallel planar surfaces and a smooth.

peripheral surface with the disk having substantial thickness.

Rigid with the disk 12 is an arm 14 having a socket 16 on the outer end thereof which faces longitudinally out- Wardly. As shown in Figure 1, arm 14 is disposed offset The arm 14 is 'cylindrical in shape and has a diameter generally equal to the thickness of thedisk 12. a

The top surface of disk 12, as seen in Figure l, is provided with a pair of arms .18 and 20 pivotally connected thereto by pivot bolts 22 and 24 with wing type clamp nuts 26 and 28 being provided for releasably locking the arms 18 and 20 in adjusted position. The bottom surface of the disk 12 is provided with a single arm 30 pivotally connected thereto by a pivot bolt and nut similar to bolts 22 and 24 and clamp nuts 26 and 28. Each of the arms .18, 20 and 30 is provided with a longitudinally and outwardly facing socket 32.

The arm 20 is normally disposed in parallel and laterally offset relation to the arm 14 when in operative position. :The arms 18 and 30 are disposed in parallel and laterally offset relation to each other and in perpendicular relationship to arms 14 and 20 when the arms are in operative condition. All of the arms are ofl set from a radius of the disk [2 which enables the arms '18 and 20 to be folded upwardly to a position alongside of the arm 14 with the socket 32 engaging the arm at longitudinally spaced points so that the arms 18 and 20 may be disposed parallel to but slightly above arm 14. The arm 30 may be swung to a position underlying arm 20 when in folded or stored condition.

The disk 12. is provided with an upstanding rigid lug 34 disposed in the path of movement of each of the pivotal arms for limiting the swinging movement of the arms to an operative position. The pivot bolts may be cast with the disk 12 or secured rigidly thereto in any suitable manner. V

The wrench may be constructed of any material satisfying the requirements of the device. The present invention also enables a normally cumbersome lug wrench to be stored in a compact manner and the orientation of the pivot points is such that the pivotal arms extend a major portion of the distance across the face of the disk thereby imparting rigidity to the arms when they arev unfolded to operative position.

It is understood that this invention is not confined to the particular embodiment shown and described, the same being merely illustrative and that this invention may be carried out in other ways within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of this invention, as it is obvious that the particular embodiment shown and described is only one of the many that may be employed to attain the objects of this invention.

I claim:

1. A wrench comprising a disk having a substantial thickness and having opposed planar faces, a first arm extending rigidly outwardly from the peripheral face of said disk, said disk and said arm being of integral construction, a second arm pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from one of said planar faces of said disk, third and fourth arms pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the other of said planar faces of said disk, clamping means for releasably holding said second, third and fourth arms in work engaging position, and a plurality of lug members formed integrally on said opposed planar faces of said disk for limiting the swinging, movement of said second, third and fourth arms.

=2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said Patented J une 7, 1 960 

